HIV & AIDS

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Overview

Millions of people are vulnerable to HIV infection, and AIDS remains the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age and young adolescents. Stigma and discrimination continue to impede the realization of people’s rights, including access to essential information and services to prevent and treat HIV.

Ending the AIDS epidemic requires long-term investments. Sexual and reproductive health and rights, indeed all human rights, are essential for realizing this vision. And given their higher risk of HIV infection, youth and key populations require focused support.

UNFPA promotes integrating HIV responses with sexual and reproductive health care, part of an overarching strategy for universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services, including condoms. We support the empowerment of key populations, women and girls, and young people to live healthy and fulfilling lives and to access the services they need, free from stigma and discrimination and all forms of gender-based violence.

News on HIV & AIDS

BARATUKU/KIRYADONGO, Uganda – Two brave South Sudanese refugees are defying expectations and speaking frankly about their decision to use family planning. After surviving conflict and enduring a perilous journey to...

AHUA, Côte d’Ivoire – As the crowds poured into the fairground in Ahua Village, in rural Côte d’Ivoire, it was clear that this would not be an ordinary festival. Instead of games and prizes, the village square was...

MONROVIA, Liberia – “I am HIV-positive, and I am sure I acquired the virus through sexual contact,” said Stephen McGill, of the group Stop AIDS in Liberia, at the launch of a campaign promoting condom use. The recent...

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An evolving challenge

HIV first shocked the world when it emerged in developed countries in the 1980s, largely among men who have sex with men. It soon exploded in poor countries, killing tens of millions of people. Sub-Saharan Africa was hit hardest; it still accounts for over 70 per cent of new infections. Over the last decade and a half, an unprecedented global response has made HIV prevention and treatment services available in almost every country in the world. Indeed, the goal of ending the epidemic may be possible within a generation.

AIDS-related deaths in adults and children, global. Source:UNAIDS

Inequalities at the heart of the epidemic

Although new HIV infections are declining, the disease remains one of the foremost health and development challenges of our time. Some 2.1 million people acquired the virus in 2013, and within this number are startling inequalities.

Key populations – a term that principallyrefers to sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who use drugs and transgender people – are disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Their vulnerability is aggravated by punitive laws, stigma, human rights violations, social exclusion, and HIV responses that inadequately address their needs.

For example, HIV prevalence among female sex workers is 14 times higher than HIV prevalence among all other women aged 15-49. An estimated 37 per cent of female sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV.

Globally, men and women make up an equal share of the people living with HIV. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, women account for 58 per cent of people living with the virus. For social and physiological reasons, adolescent girls and young women are particularly vulnerable, with HIV infection rates more than double those of males of the same age group. HIV is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age, and it contributes significantly to maternal mortality due both to progression of the disease itself and through higher rates of sepsis, anaemia and other pregnancy-related conditions. Women’s and girls’ vulnerability to HIV is driven also by gender inequality, including gender-based violence which limits their ability to make safe choices about their sexual and reproductive health.

Adults and children newly infected with HIV, global. Source:UNAIDS

And young people are disproportionately affected HIV. Although the overall number of AIDS-related deaths is down 35 per cent since 2005, estimates suggest that AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are actually rising. In fact, AIDS is a leading cause of deaths among adolescents in Africa, and it is the second greatest cause of death among adolescents globally.

Young people’s vulnerability to HIV is exacerbated by a lack of access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services and by exclusion from decision-making processes.

For all these groups, a dangerous mix of stigma and discrimination, restrictive and punitive laws, and inadequate medical and social services increases the risk of HIV infection and HIV-related illness and death.

UNFPA’s response

Addressing HIV is integral to UNFPA’s mission of achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health and realizing human rights and gender equality. UNFPA works with partners to increase access to HIV-related services and sexual and reproductive health services for young people, key populations, and women and girls, including those living with HIV. We also support the empowerment of these populations to claim their human rights, access the services they need and lead healthy, fulfilling lives.

Prevention

In the absence of a functional cure, prevention is crucial to ending AIDS. This requires intensifying the scale and scope of HIV-prevention measures that have been shown to work. UNFPA focuses on reducing HIV transmission and on comprehensively addressing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of key populations, women and girls and young people. As a UNAIDS Cosponsor, UNFPA is committed to the vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

In 2013, UNFPA was the top supplier of male and female condoms to low- and middle-income countries.

Because the majority of HIV infections are sexually transmitted, reducing this mode of transmission is crucial. Working with partners, UNFPA is scaling up age-appropriate and culturally sensitive comprehensive sexuality education, increasing access to and use of male and female condoms, and promoting human rights and gender equality. UNFPA and partners are also strengthening access to quality, integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health services, including services that eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Empowerment

At the heart of any effective HIV response is the empowerment of those who are most at risk.

UNFPA supports the empowerment of men who have sex with men, sex workers and transgender people to protect themselves from HIV infection and to fully access antiretroviral therapy. UNFPA is also strengthening the capacity of community-led organizations, networks of key populations and people living with HIV, to enable them to meaningfully participate in all aspects of HIV- and sexual and reproductive health policy, programme development and implementation. UNFPA also supports municipalities in addressing micro-epidemics among key populations.

UNFPA also supports the empowerment of young people to protect themselves from HIV, in particular by addressing their sexual and reproductive health needs. And UNFPA strengthens the availability and use of strategic data on young people and HIV, and works closely with youth organizations and networks.

Publications on HIV & AIDS

While there are many separate indicators related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV, a key challenge has been the lack of internationally agreed indicators to measure progress in linking SRH and HIV. This ...

This compendium of case studies showcases innovative approaches to integrated HIV-SRH service delivery for improving MNCH outcomes, and strengthening health and community systems. It is hoped that the 11 case studies...

This tool offers practical advice on implementing HIV and STI programmes for and with sex workers. It is based on the recommendations in the guidance document on Prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually...

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Resources on HIV & AIDS

Condom use is a critical element in a comprehensive, effective and sustainable approach to HIV prevention and treatment. Prevention is the mainstay of the response to AIDS. Condoms are an integral and essential part of...